Thank Your Stars All You Want
by Pierrot's Vault
Summary: In which Sakura tries to help Sasuke with fixing his broken heart, in the hopes that hers would be healed as well. "I know you love her still Sasuke-kun. Just don't let it stop you from being you."
1. Good Mornings

A/N: Well, here I am again. It's been so long since I've written here and I've almost forgotten how this works. But my whole being is pushing me to write again and I'm just going to let the flow take me away.

So. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto.

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Thank Your Stars All You Want

Chapter One: _Good Mornings_

Slowly, the early morning sunlight filtered through the blinds. It steadily crawled through the rug-covered floor, up the dishevelled bed, and then resting on pink coloured locks. She had awoken earlier and watched its progression, still too comfortable to get up, until she had to shield her eyes from the too bright light.

It was another day. Another day that she was alone. She contemplated if she could play truant for just today, sleep in, and maybe take a walk in the park in the afternoon. It felt like she had all the time in the world, and with just those thoughts, a wide smile tugged at the corners of her cherry lips. It was another day that she was free.

With a sigh, she disentangled herself from her pristinely white bed sheets, letting them gather on the floor. These days she rarely slept with much clothes on, just a too short shorts and tank top. It was ironic, back when _he_ was still sharing her bed, she was never this comfortable with her skin. It was like being on her own made her appreciate herself more.

Another thing she had started appreciating was mornings. It used to be that, in the first few days, she would wake up with a jerk when she reached for _his _side of the bed only to find it empty. Just cold and empty. Those mornings, she could barely stop herself from jumping off the bed, mindlessly trying to find something else to do.

The wounds were still there, but now the loneliness never caught her unaware anymore. These days, she made it a habit to stand near the wall window in her apartment, looking at the bustling metropolis down below as it came to life. She would press herself against the glass, cherishing these quiet moments.

But like everything, it couldn't last forever. The point couldn't have been made clearer by the sudden ringing of her phone. It was a good thing she was fast becoming a morning person, otherwise whoever she would find on the other end would get an earful.

"Oi. Ugly."

She winced. Oh she had a feeling that her day would just go downhill from here. "Good morning to you too Sai. What do you want?"

"I was just going to ask if you had plans after lunch." She shuddered at the cheerfulness in his voice, only because she knew it to be fake. The man was as emotionless as a rock, and insensitive to boot.

She thought back to the newly painted masterpiece in her studio. It had taken most of last week to complete and she had barely gone out of the apartment. Then again, after e_verything_, she rarely met with any of their friends after.

"Yeah, I have to deliver a commission. Why?" '_Why are you bothering me this early?'_

"Where?"

Her brows furrowed, was she ever going to get answers from the infuriating man. He wanted something, that much she could tell. Sai was a good friend, but he never sought her out before. She mourned the passing of her sense of peace. With a great sigh of restraint, she relented, "Mitsui Outlet Park. Tell me—!"

The nerve! Sai had hung up on her just like that! She could barely restrain the scream that was threatening to come out of her. And it was all she could do to not throw the phone against the wall. _'The fuck?'_

Muttering more curses, she grabbed the fluffy towel draped on the headboard of her bed and headed towards the bathroom. Whatever Sai was planning, she was just going to have to wait and see. But for now, she refused to let it get to her.

Feeling energized, her bottle-green eyes lit up. After all, she wouldn't be Haruno Sakura if she didn't face her problems heads on.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Fuck."

A taut arm snaked its way out of the sheets, clumsily trying to turn off the alarm. When the blaring refused to stop, he opted to just throw the damned thing out of the room. Not that it did a lot of good; he could still here the shrill thing.

Another muttered curse, and he got up, pale blue pajama bottoms and all. The clock had read _6:00 am_ and he was slightly surprised that he hadn't woken up before now. Then again, he didn't actually want to get up today.

Lying back on the bed, he thought of the reasons why he didn't want to go through with his plans for the day. One, he wasn't too keen on spending six and a half hours on a cramped plane to Osaka with the walking, talking ramen advertisement that he liked to call his bestfriend. He was already getting a headache just thinking about it.

Two. They'd have to rent a room on a hotel when they got to Japan. Three guesses on who would insist on becoming his roommate. No, it wasn't the blonde. Naruto he could handle. His redhead cousin on the other hand?

Third. It was spring, and spring in Osaka was more often than not hot and humid. And they'd be there for days. _How bothersome_, as a certain Nara genius would say.

But when he closed his eyes, he could almost _see_ the real reason why he doubted his resolve for this trip. He could almost _hear_ her haughty laughter and _smell_ her lavender scented shampoo. No, if he had to be honest he knew it was because s_he _was there. But she wasn't there for him. Not with him.

It was awkward enough that _she_ was going, but he bristled at the thought of the whispers behind his back: "_Poor guy, he's already been through a lot. Now this?" _If ever he did go, it was going to be a long, _long_ two weeks.

He looked to his bedside table where he knew, inside, was an unopened box with a haphazardly-tied purple ribbon. With a grunt, he lifted himself back on his feet. However he felt about this, he was going to have to go. Because he had a job to do. Because, and he felt no guilt in being smug about this, they all depended on him for this job. But mostly, if there was nothing he could do, he would at least give _her_ this last gift.

He let a hand pass through his messy, black hair and smirked. He was an Uchiha, and he would get through this, step by step. Slowly.

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Okay, it's my sickness. I always start of a story without much dialogue. And all this pronoun game? Haha, what do you guys think? Read and review! Next chapter will be up in a few days.


	2. There'll Be No Clear Skies

A/N: Yeah yeah yeah, I never really expected people to go on and review, follow, and fave that fast. But I'm mostly writing for myself. But I would also appreciate knowing what you think. Thanks.

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto.

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Thank Your Stars All You Want

Chapter Two: There'll Be No Clear Skies

"Hey, bastard! Wake up, we're here!"

Said bastard opened one eye and scowled. Of course he was awake. How could he _not_ be awake with all of Naruto's comments on the in-flight movie (_Sucker Punch is ass!_) and the constant stream of food he'd ordered from the slightly flustered flight attendant.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, this is Captain Li Chen here to announce that we will be landing in Osaka ahead of schedule. It is now two in the afternoon down below and in behalf of the cabin crew…"

Sasuke tuned out the rest of the captain's speech and looked out the small window. Osaka was a large city with soaring skyscrapers everywhere. It reminded him slightly of Singapore— his home of five years and running— only less dense. The glare of the sun bounced off the glass surfaces, making it hard to look. Just when he thought it was all going to be hard concrete, he spied a glittering expanse of water: the Yodo-gawa or Yodo River. He could see tufts of green along its banks, and pink too. _Sakura huh?_

He wondered if _she _was happy to know that they'd be right on time for the Hanami (Cherry Blossom viewing). Seated somewhere on this plane, he knew, was a girl with bright blue eyes admiring the sakura trees below. Flowers had always been her thing.

"Hey Sasuke?"

The seriousness in the blonde's voice made Sasuke turn. It was as if he had heard his thoughts. Naruto, with his eyes that were the epitome of the cliché that the eyes were windows to one's soul, struggled to put into words what he wanted to say. He knew though, and he dreaded the words that were going to come out. So he just looked back out the window. Pity was something he'd never be comfortable with.

"_I'm here for you man. We'll get through this."_

"Do you think Karin's going to freak when she finds out I gave her the wrong hotel name?"

Sasuke looked back to Naruto. He hadn't expected that— for the blonde to just let things go and suddenly change track. All traces of pity or discomfort were replaced with a wide grin that could only be described as foxy. Maybe he needed to give his bestfriend a little more credit.

"Whatever dobe, she's _your_ cousin," he said as he stood up and hoisted his back pack on one shoulder. Sasuke couldn't help the smirk making itself present on his lips, this was one of the _very_ few times that the idiot was sensitive enough not push things he didn't want to talk about. But he was thankful all the same.

"Yeah? Well she's going to be _your _roommate if you don't start treating me nicer! I try to do one good thing for you and you don't even thank me." Naruto huffed and lugged his own bag as they started moving towards the exit.

Sasuke turned to the blonde and lightly punched him on the shoulder before moving along.

"Thanks."

The two had just reached the interior of the airport when a familiar voice called out to them.

"Naruto! Wait up you idiot!"

Sasuke turned back only to see _her_, Yamanaka Ino, running towards them. He could feel a tightening in his chest that he now only ever associated with her. They had boarded the plane at different times, with him and Naruto arriving late as per usual (thanks to him sleeping in this time). Come to think of it, this was the first time they would see each other since… they broke up. Keeping his face as impassive as he could, he scanned her from head to toe, drinking the sight of her in. She had cut her platinum blonde hair short, falling just slightly above her neck, her bangs she kept in check with a plastic, blue clip. That was new.

He would have gone on staring if he hadn't noticed that Ino's hand was latched to another's. To a very sleepy, very bored looking Nara Shikamaru. He held both of their bags in one hand, looking for the entire world like he had just been dragged to this trip. That was probably true, Sasuke thought. The genius was as proportionally lazy as he was smart. Slightly acknowledging how petty he sounded, he thought that he should've stayed at home then.

With that, Sasuke continued on ahead. He hadn't missed the fact that Ino only called after Naruto, or that Shikamaru had seen him staring at the girl and managed a half-hearted glare at best. So walked on he did, he had to get away. It did, however, give him a slight satisfaction in feeling three pairs of eyes on his back. At least one of those was hers. Anyway, he could feel the others catching up to them, Akimichi Chouji who was always one step behind the new couple; and Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba, two new additions to their group.

"Oi, Naruto. Where are we supposed to meet your cousin? Is she hot?" He could hear Kiba practically panting. To say that he was a flirt was an understatement. The man would hit on anything in a skirt that walked by. He could feel a headache starting to form; it was like having two of Naruto, two little kids running around and trying to one-up each other. Then again, if Kiba could get Karin off his back for the duration of this trip, it wouldn't be unwelcome.

Wait.

"Naruto, you got Karin to go to a wrong hotel?" It was more a statement than a question.

The blonde kid raised two thumbs up and grinned, emphasizing the whiskers on his cheeks. "Sure did bastard!"

"And she's our only contact with the client?"

Naruto's grin slipped and he visibly paled. A chorus of 'idiots' and 'what were you thinking?' resounded.

Sasuke had half the mind to just purchase return tickets back to Singapore. But before he could take a single step to— well, anywhere as long as the quarrelling behind him was out of range, he felt a vibration in his pockets. There was a message for him, but it wasn't from a number he was familiar with.

It only had three words: "Mitsui Outlet Park."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Oh this is wonderfully done Sakura-chan! This will be perfect for the foyer."

Sakura sipped her chamomile tea, appearing every bit the picture of sophistication. Inside her head however, she couldn't help but be extremely proud of her work. She imagined herself dancing along the streets and circling lamp posts like in _Dancing in the Rain_ out of sheer happiness_. _Minus the rain of course. It was a heady feeling, she decided, being appreciated for something you worked hard for. "I'm glad you think so Ayumi-san! I am flattered. "

"Oh, don't think of it as just empty flattery Sakura-chan. I really am impressed. I was led to believe that you had only started painting three months ago?"

Sakura's eyes looked back to the contents of her cup and smiled wistfully. Yes, it had been three months. And in the space of those three months she had managed to completely renovate her life. Firstly, in something she could only call a MAD desire for change, she had quit medical school. That was more impulse that any rational decision on her part. It was scary at first. Being a pediatrecian had been her one dream since she was a child, and letting it go had felt like she was letting a part of herself go. But it was done and she wasn't going back.

A week after, she finally got around to buying her own studio. Since medical school was already off the table, she figured that there was no better use for the money she had saved up. What she bought wasn't really a studio, per se, but a whole floor in one of those mixed-use residential buildings in the heart of the city. Construction hadn't ended yet when she surveyed the building; it was still all concrete and no tiles or paint. It was love at first sight! She told the building manager to just leave it be. It also didn't hurt that she got a discount because of that.

When Sakura brought her friends over for a sort-of home warming celebration, they had concluded that she was either crazy or chalked everything up to post-breakup depression. Left alone in her penthouse-like studio hours later, she found that she didn't mind their conclusions at all. They were probably right anyway. But sitting in the middle of her unfinished paradise, she found that she couldn't care less.

And now she was painting again. It was mostly for herself really. But there were bills to pay and things to buy, so she had also started taking on painting jobs.

Sakura looked back to Ayumi-san, who had suggested that they start hanging her painting so that her customers could see. The woman, nearly in her fifties, had been her mother's close friend. She owned this cute little traditional tea shop in Mitsui Outlet Park and it surprisingly did very well for itself. Sakura looked all around and saw mostly teenagers, and some families or old couples tucked away in the corners. She knew green tea had become a fad to teenagers these days, but this was either weirdly interesting or a refreshing change. Either way, it couldn't be all bad.

After the painting was set up and neatly framed, Sakura and Ayumi took a step back to appreciate it. It was huge, it nearly encompassed the distance between the floor and the ceiling. The subject of her painting was the Osaka Castle at sunset. Well, mostly the central tower anyway. It and her namesake trees that surrounded the tower were bathed in the warm orange glow of the setting sun. Most of the scene she revived from memory, one with a pink haired girl and holding hands with a long haired boy.

And _that_ felt like ages ago.

Sakura thanked Ayumi-san when the older woman gave her the check and bid her goodbye. Walking around the mall, she wondered what she could do next. Shopping perhaps? There was a lilt in her steps and she almost felt giddy with excitement. Maybe she'd go splurge on cake—

"Hey Ugly!"

No. Sakura stopped right in her tracks but refused to acknowledge the idiot of a man who she knew was already running to her side. No, especially not when he had just called her _ugly_ in front of so many people!

But it had to be done, otherwise the insulting nicknames would just keep on coming. Sakura knew it was just a term of endearment, though how dear she was to Sai was questionable if he called her ugly. Of all things!

And so Sakura turned to Sai, who was waving to her with the same fake (read: creepy) smile he couldn't help but give. He was standing outside a bistro she had never gone to before, and behind him was a very familiar group of people, crowding over two outside tables. Some were actually her friends!

"Hey Sai! You never said the group was—"

But she realized too late that _he _was there, not until she was looking directly at his pale, pale eyes.

"Neji-kun... Hey."

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Well. Well. I'm not sure if this came out as I wanted to, but I'm glad chapter two is done. That was also much longer than the previous chapter so, yey. And yes, yes, yes, it is SasuSaku. Just not so soon. So… Read and review. Thanks!


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